Conventional materials for intermediate transfer belts include conductive powders dispersed in polyimide resins. The polyimide resins include thermoplastic polyimide resins and thermosetting polyimide resins. The conductive powders include carbon black, acetylene black, polyaniline, stannic oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, titanium oxide, antimony tin oxide, indium tin oxide, zinc oxide, potassium titanate and other types of conductive/semi-conductive powders.
Although conventional polyimide-based intermediate transfer belts can be made seamed or even seamless, controlling uniformity of electrical resistivity and other properties is a challenge, due to variations in powder size, in powder concentration, and in milling process during the belt formation. In addition, conventional polyimide-based intermediate transfer belts are usually thermally cured at high temperatures greater than 350° C. for more than 1 hour. Coating solvents are then removed and are often released to environments in order to form the belt. However, faster and cleaner processes are desirable to fabricate intermediate transfer belts.
Thus, there is a need to overcome these and other problems of the prior art and to provide an intermediate transfer member containing UV curable polymers and carbon nanotubes.